Java as a Main Language in College Won't Do Good

This is a discussion on Java as a Main Language in College Won't Do Good within the A Brief History of Cprogramming.com forums, part of the Community Boards category; I know it's an old issue, but his argument is an enjoyable read.
http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articl...vaSchools.html...

I was being sarcastic. If you think the kind of stuff they teach at MIT is useless, I'm going to laugh when you find out how much companies are willing to pay for someone who can maintain their programs written in System 370.

What are you talking about? One second you're saying that skills from MIT are useless and now you're saying "each to his own" if you think BASIC is the greatest language?

The only thing that matters is who gets the money.

Compare average salaries for a System 370 programmer and a Java programmer. Now I'm not saying Java shouldn't be taught in college and that System 370 is the end-all-be-all, but it's a pretty crazy statement that skills from MIT are useless, that's all I'm saying - even if it was just an exaggeration.

The median expected salary for a typical Java Developer in the United States is $76,256.

The median expected salary for a typical Systems Engineering UNIX/NT Manager in the United States is $87,227.

Several places you could classify a System 370 programmer - the specific company I'm thinking of would use it closest to the above description. You could also go for plain "Mainframe Programmer", in which the general average is about that of Java programmer - you can be sure System 370 programmers would be in the very top of that pay scale.

Not as good as I thought - but still - you're WAY off of useless there.

Now what kind of idiot hires people who have degrees with nothing to do with what you're working on? That is completely irrelevant. Java programmers are geared more towards writing applications. The kind of people who go to MIT are probably more interested in research and more scientific computing. If you're saying an MIT degree is useless for doing the same thing as a regular Java programmer, than of course, but in the field of Computer Science and IT in general, you're being completely ridiculous.

Wayne M. Ayers, chief economist of BankBoston, said, "In a national economy that is increasingly emphasizing innovation, these findings extend our understanding of how MIT has been instrumental in generating new businesses nationwide.

Oh, and your belief that MIT students are gullible and unable to think for themselves.

Oh! I get it! If I want to make millions (or at least my first million, which is all that really matters), I need to form my own business--and not work for someone else! Wow, I never realized that by taking more risk the rewards could be higher.

Ok, sarcasm aside, I think most programmers have at least some aspiration to start their own business with some product that they've written. It would make an interesting poll at least, and also interesting to see how many followed through with it, and how many were "successful"--whatever that is.